NAWG applauds WRRDA passage

WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S. — The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) applauds U.S. Congress for votes this week to pass the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) of 2014 with an overwhelming 412-4 vote in the House and 91-7 vote in the Senate. NAWG now looks forward to President Obama signing the bill in law.

“NAWG is pleased with the passage of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014,” said NAWG President Paul Penner, a wheat farmer from Hillsboro, Kansas, U.S. “The near unanimous support the bill received in both the House and Senate signals how vital our inland waterways system is; both to America’s wheat farmers, who export nearly half the wheat that is grown domestically, and to our nation’s economy as a whole.”

WRRDA seeks to increase funding for waterway development projects, such as deepening waterways and lock and dam repairs and upgrades. The bill is especially important to America’s wheat farmers, who rely on many inland waterways, such as the Columbia River system in the Pacific Northwest, to ship their wheat to port before being exported abroad.